The Power of Storytelling in Children's Mental Health Education

In this episode of the JPF First Aid podcast, we're revisiting the world of children's mental health and the creative ways we can support it.

Jessica Radford is someone who’s doing just that, she's the author and creator of the Animal Advisor series, a collection of children's books that help young readers deal with life’s challenges in a gentle, thoughtful way.

Jessica was in a job where she was unhappy. After handing in her notice, she was out of work for several months but after seeing a squirrel struggling in her garden it opened up a whole new career. Jessica began her Animal Advisor series and journey as an author, and hasn’t looked back since.

Key Takeaways

Jessica explains how her books not only help to promote good mental health in children, but also those slightly older or those buying the books for children.

You can have money and be in a comfortable position, but the most valuable thing is your mental wellbeing and how you are feeling.

As well as writing the books, Jessica also does a lot of work to help a number of different charities, which she discusses in this podcast.

Key moments

“I felt that I had no right to feel unhappy because I was so lucky to have what I had and I thought that I had it all but in truth, I wasn’t living a very fulfilling life.”

“I feel as if I’ve got so much to say now and I’ve tried to cover as many issues as I can with my books. I’ve written nine stories in the series so far and I have loads more ideas.”

“It’s getting people thinking more about mental health and I know there’s a lot more awareness these days but there is still a lot of stigma around it, and I wanted to help normalise talking about mental health.”

About the guest

Jessica always had a love of books and reading from a very early age. She attempted to write a few stories when she was a child and after losing touch with writing for a while, sat down at her laptop a few years ago and her first story, ‘The Squirrel Who Couldn’t Balance’ just ‘happened’. Since then, the stories just seemed to have flowed and Jessica’s love of writing has returned with a vengeance.

Jessica loves spending time with her family, walking, visiting the theatre, and has a great love of music and dance. Of course, she loves to read too and personally, enjoys reading a wide variety of books, particularly historical fiction (especially anything about the Tudors or World War 2 era), crime and thriller novels plus, as a child, she was always drawn to animal stories.

https://www.jessicaradford.co.uk/

About the Host

John Fogarty has a training background dating back to 2005, with achievements including a teaching qualification and assessor standard. He has previously worked with two first aid charities, delivering sessions in the workplace and educational environments.

John has consistently received excellent feedback for his delivery and customer service, as evident in numerous reviews. He ensures learners enjoy and achieve their goals, works with customers to select the right courses and resolves any issues promptly.

Find out more at https://jpffirstaid.co.uk/

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